by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - What stands out the most is how easy this football season has looked for Florida State, from the first kickoff when few considered this team a championship contender all the way until last Sunday, when it took its place in line to play Alabama for the national title in January.

Blowout after blowout after blowout, this season for Florida State has looked like a freight train to Pasadena. And with no apparent challenges remaining on the field, it was hard to envision what might slow it down.

But now here comes an 11-month-old investigation, a heavily redacted police report and a haze of questions surrounding charismatic quarterback Jameis Winston, who seemed destined to win the Heisman Trophy. In the span of a whirlwind 24 hours, the re-emergence of an old accusation has done what Clemson and Miami couldn't and provided an obstacle to Florida State's perfection.

"I think we've had a lot of adversity (this season)," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said Thursday, the first time he took questions from reporters since the story surfaced. There's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than y'all know about. We've dealt with a lot of issues that go on during the season. Our guys understand adversity and will handle it."

Adversity may not be the right word for what has landed on Florida State's doorstep this week, but until more definitive details emerge about Dec. 7, 2012, there's really nothing better to put in its place.

Even a full day after Winston's name appeared in national headlines next to allegations of sexual assault, no information has surfaced about the woman who filed the complaint, what exactly was in the complaint, why Winston wasn't questioned initially, why Tallahassee police apparently closed the case in February and why it suddenly resurfaced in the middle of Florida State's championship chase.

All we really know is that the State Attorney for the 2nd Judicial Circuit now has the case, and until Winston is either cleared or charged with a crime â?? a decision unlikely be made within the next few days, according to Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman â?? this issue will be at the forefront every time Florida State plays on television and every time the Seminoles' players and coaches appear in front of cameras.

Like Cam Newton in 2010 and Johnny Manziel last season, this â?? whatever it turns out to be, however long it lasts -- is now bigger than the program, more significant to the masses than the goal Florida State is trying to chase. That's just how it is, and there's nothing the school can do to control it.

"Success brings a lot of clutter from other things, and there's always things that go on," Fisher said. "You have to separate on the field and off the field and what you can control and our guys are doing a nice job."

That was as close as Fisher would get to talking specifically about the matter at hand, but there's no denying the stakes here are as high as they could be.

If Winston is cleared of all wrongdoing, this will look like an attempt to smear an athlete headed toward superstardom on the basis of an old accusation that wasn't even deemed worthy of pursuit by the police.

If he's charged with a felony, he would immediately be suspended per university rules, throwing the national title race and Winston's future into chaos. More significantly, it would raise serious questions about the Tallahassee police's handling of the initial complaint and how aggressively the university investigated its star quarterback when the issue first surfaced. The implications of that scenario would be ugly for everyone, including Fisher, who has spent months praising Winston's character and stood behind those comments again Thursday.

"Yes sir, most definitely," Fisher said.

And then, of course, there's the question of what happens in the interim as Florida State waits for clarity from the state attorney.

Fisher said everything the last two days has been normal for Winston. He's taken all the first team practice snaps, and he said the team has responded fine to the burst of attention. What else would he say?

"He's been great," Fisher said. "Went out and practiced well and played well and eliminated clutter."

Though there's nothing on the field that would seemingly derail the Seminoles â?? they play Syracuse this week, then finish with Idaho and struggling Florida â?? this is a whole new deal for a team that has known nothing but a smooth ride this season and a quarterback who is all of 19 years old.

Nobody knows exactly what this situation is, where it's going or how much it will weigh on those involved. After blowing out everyone in sight the last 10 weeks, Florida State finally has a legitimate opponent: Uncertainty.

Dan Wolken, a national college football reporter for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @DanWolken.